The dish was retroactively named after Zuo Zongtang (Tso Tsung-t'ang) (1812–1885), a Qing dynasty statesman and military leader from Hunan Province.

[3] A review of Uncle Peng in 1977 mentioned that their "General Tso's chicken was a stir-fried masterpiece, sizzling hot both in flavor and temperature".

[6][page needed] There are two stories purporting to explain how Peng Chang-kuei created the dish when he worked in Taipei before he introduced it to New York.

[12][13][14] In the documentary, Peng recalled in 1952 he was invited by the Republic of China Navy to be in charge of a three-day state banquet during Admiral Arthur W. Radford's visit of Taiwan.

[16] New York's Shun Lee Palaces, located at East (155 E. 55th St.) and West (43 W. 65th St.), also claims that it was the first restaurant to serve General Tso's chicken and that it was invented by a Chinese immigrant chef named T. T. Wang in 1972.

[3][6][page needed] In Taiwan, it is not served sweet; the chicken is cooked with its skin and soy sauce plays a much more prominent role.